Soldering or brazing of pipe or tubing requires that the mating surfaces of the pipe and fittings be thoroughly cleaned to prevent oxide-free and contaminant free surfaces which can be melted by the molten solder or brazing alloy. This is required to form sound joints which are free of porosity and voids and which will not leak.
Various devices comprising male and female brush members have long been available for performing the operations of scraping for cleaning, scarifying, deburring and abrading to remove grit and foreign matter such as drops of solder, chemical substances or other debris on the outer and inner surfaces of the tubing or piping. Such devices are also employed to clean the surfaces of connectors. Many of these devices feature male cleaning brushes having sharp, aggressive steel wire bristles which are unprotected or exposed by removal of a cover of the like. Examples of such designs are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,088,150, 4,575,892, 4,862,549 and 5,058,327. Other devices offer housing or handle designs which are imperfectly designed to provide the proper shape and grip required for effective rotational and axial movement of the cleaning tool. Still other devices fail to provide the capability of a universally sized handle which will accommodate various brush sizes.
Such predecessor cleaning tools have not proved to be entirely effective, safe and convenient to use and it remains desirable to provide an improved tool or combination brush which will properly and expeditiously clean the inside and outside surfaces of pipes, tubing, and connectors. It is further desirable to provide a combination brush having a one-piece handle having an external gripping surface conducive to improved cleaning and an internal surface designed to prevent inadvertent contact with the male and female brushes.